The Cage
by DreamsInAbsinthe
Summary: AU - In a futuristic world where the ancient art of battle has once more been turned into a bloodsport, both L and Light must fight to stay alive. But can they survive The Cage?


**Author's Note: **This story is an experiment in writing styles. It's completely different than anything I have ever written before, and I love a good challenge. Please keep this in mind while reading. Also, the summary is still a work in progress, so it's bound to change.

**Summary: **AU - In a futuristic world where the ancient art of battle has once more been turned into a bloodsport, both L and Light must fight to stay alive. But can they survive The Cage?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Death Note_ or any of the characters herein. They are the property of their respective owners and I am in no way trying to exploit their wonderful creation. This is fanfiction and I am making no profit (nor do I intend to) off of this work.

**Warning(s): **I am undecided if this story will be yaoi, but it probably will. Also, there will be a lot of violence. When I say a lot...I mean it. Spoilers include real names, but besides that there's really not much because this is AU - so it doesn't really follow the story line. At all.

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**The Cage**

**Prologue**

His fist collided with his enemy's face with the force of a well-aimed bullet, shattering the bone into a fine powder. The Raven smiled confidently as he felt his opponent's blood, hot and sticky, spill across his knuckles before he reeled backwards to deliver a coma inducing kick to the head. Just before his foot connected with the man's bloodied face he was pulled off balance by a meaty hand around his ankle, his back hitting the cement floor of the cage with a sickening thud.

Around him the crowd roared on, screaming the name 'Destroyer' like an angry mantra. Using the momentum from the fall, The Raven quickly rolled back to his feet, fists clenched as he settled into a battle stance.

The Destroyer charged, crouching low and grabbing The Raven around his midsection, hefting him into the air only briefly before slamming him into the chain-link wall of the cage with a rattle.

The Raven grunted, bringing his fists down hard on The Destroyer's back with a hollow thump. The bigger of the two, a hulking behemoth of a man, grit his teethe but didn't loosen his hold. In a final act of desperation, The Raven, half draped over his rival's shoulder, suddenly opened his mouth and bit down. Coppery blood filled his mouth as his teethe sank into The Destroyer's upper back. The scrawny man slipped free, using his thin frame to deftly maneuver to the opposite end of the cage.

The crowd went wild; they were losing money on this fight.

The Raven, crouching to the floor with his gangly arms palm-down for balance, leveled the other with a smooth gaze as he struggled to regain his stance. A moment later, The Destroyer was on his feet and growling.

"This fight is mine, kid," the statement was accentuated by the cocking of thick knuckles. "You might as well give up."

The Raven offered up no response, emotionlessly gazing up at his adversary in indifference. Despite his size, The Destroyer was fast. In the blink of an eye he was lunging through the air. The Raven didn't have enough time to react and before he knew it one hand was around his throat and the other was plunged into his stomach. His skull cracked against the ground for a moment the world turned dark. Boney fingers clawed desperately at the hand cutting off his air supply when The Destroyer brought up a fist and smashed it into struggling man's face, blood and saliva spewing as his head was knocked to the side. He gasped, chocking on his own blood.

Feeling the world blur around him, The Raven quickly brought his knee up, nailing The Destroyer where it hurt most. It was a dirty move, but a necessary one.

The black haired Raven, still dizzy from t he sudden attack, blindly stumbled out of the way as The Destroyer toppled over. The man was writhing on the ground, deep moans of pain escaping his chapped lips every few seconds. He was down, but the fight was far from over.

Thinking fast, The Raven clamored to his feet and wasted no time in bringing his foot back down upon the fallen man's head. He repeated the motion twice over, his bear feet sticky with blood. As he moved back for the fourth kick, The Destroyer decided to move. He rolled to the side and kicked up just as the jean-clad leg was coming down, foot aimed for the leg still on the ground. He hit the knee and the Raven, wings clipped, crumpled to the ground with a shout of pain. He grit his teeth as he struggled to move away from his assailant, his broken leg dragging uselessly along with him.

He had to think fast, losing this fight meant losing his life – and The Raven hated to lose.

Faking frailty, The Raven lay prone as The Destroyer moved in for the final blow. He needed to concentrate, if he missed by a millimeter it would be game over. So he waited, stilling his movements as The Destroyer barreled down on him.

Just as The Destroyer was within striking distance, arms outstretched and once more going for the neck, The Raven shot forward and rammed his thumbs into the bulky man's eye sockets. The howled in pain only briefly before collapsing to the floor, harsh pants eventually dying in the stale air of the cage.

The crowd was silent for a moment as The Raven weighed the situation, black eyes staring numbly at his now dead enemy. Then suddenly the cheers came, the spectators stomping their feet against the floorboards in a staccato rhythm.

The Raven froze, unsure of what to do. Now these people were calling out _his _name, cheering _him_ on. He lay there almost lifelessly as the referee opened a small door to the left and stumbled inside the cage.

As the ref lifted his arm in victory, L just stared. Even though he had won the fight, he couldn't help but wonder what he had lost in the process.

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**A/N: **Okay, I know it's short (but it's a prologue) and it's probably kind of confusing. But please stick with it, because if it turns out anything like what I have in my head it'll be epic. I'm not very experienced with fight scenes, so that is why I consider this story to be a challenge to me. So please review and let me know how I'm doing.

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